Wireless communication systems allow communication between devices in a convenient manner. Since the data in a wireless communication system is broadcast through air, it is possible for unwanted, nearby electronic devices to receive any transmission between other electronic devices. Significant progress has been made to ensure the security of wireless communications connections utilizing secure communications protocols including, but not limited to, device pairing, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Utilizing these (or other) secure communications protocols, electronic devices can establish a secured wireless communication system where data can be exchanged between properly configured wireless communication devices.
To ensure the security, these secure communications protocols require an initial configuration step for each electronic device connected to the secured wireless communication system during which specific security values are stored on each electronic device as required by the secured wireless communication system. The stored values can include encryption keys and other security related data. Due to security issues, this configuration process cannot be performed over the same secured wireless communication system. For devices that have a user interface display and user interface input controls (e.g., wireless-enabled computer, digital picture frames or smart phones), the display, entry and selection of configuration values can be performed with the user interface display and input controls on the device itself. For devices without sufficient user interface capabilities, some other mechanism must be used to enter configuration parameters.
A number of different methods of initial configuration are prevalent in the field today. FIG. 1 shows one such method of configuring a first electronic device 101 from a second electronic device 105 using a wired communication system 108 such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection or an Ethernet connection. The use of the wired communication system 108 avoids many of the security issues associated with wireless communications, as the data is not broadcast over the air. The second electronic device 105 connects to the first electronic device 101 via the wired communication system 108 using standard protocols associated with the wired communication system 108. A device configuration application running on the second electronic device 105 then sends commands and data across the wired communication system 108 to the first electronic device 101. The first electronic device 101 is capable of interpreting the commands and data received over the wired communication system 108, processing those commands and data, and returning appropriate responses over the wired communication system 108. The returned responses can include information indicating an internal state of the first electronic device 101, information obtained by the first electronic device 101 (e.g. wireless communication systems 103 that were located), and result codes for the commands received from the second electronic device 105 via the wired communication system 108.
The device configuration application running on the second electronic device 105 displays information to a user via a display 107. The user can indicate selections, enter values and control the device configuration application via one or more user controls 106 such as a mouse or keyboard. The display 107 and the user controls 106 may be components of the second electronic device, or may be connected to the second electronic device using wired or wireless connections.
When the user initiates a device configuration process, the device configuration application can request that the first electronic device 101 search for available wireless communication systems 103, including secured and unsecured communication systems. The wireless communication systems may be network connections (e.g., 802.11 wireless connections) with access controlled by a wireless communication access device 102 (such as a home WiFi router), or may be individual connections controlled by a configured wireless communication device 104 (such as a Bluetooth pairing or an ad-hoc WiFi network).
The device configuration application on the second electronic device 105 can display a list of available wireless communication systems 103 to the user via the display 107, and can enable the user to select a particular wireless communication system 103 for which they would like to configure a connection. If the selected wireless communication system 103 requires configuration of security parameters, the device configuration application can display appropriate information on the display 107. The user can then indicate the appropriate values using the user controls 106. Once the user enters the required values, the device configuration application transmits the values to the first electronic device 101 via the wired communication system 108. The first electronic device 101 then stores the values in a non-volatile memory and then utilizes these values to connect to the selected wireless communication system 103. The first electronic device 101 may optionally return status information regarding the connection to the second wireless communication system 103 to the second electronic device 105 via the wired communication system 108.
This method has the disadvantage that it requires a physical connection between the second electronic device 105 and the first electronic device 101, which may require temporary relocation of the first electronic device 101 and it also requires an additional cable that must be included with the first electronic device 101 that increases the product cost. In addition, the user must retain and later locate this additional cable if configuration information for the wireless communication system 103 needs to be updated or it is desired to configure a connection between the first electronic device 101 and a different wireless communication system.
FIG. 2 shows a second prior art method of configuring a first electronic device 201 for connection to a wireless communication system 203 by using a second electronic device 205 (e.g. smart phone) having associated user controls 206 and display 207. In this method, the first electronic device 201 must initially be put into a configuration state 200. Typically, this is the standard state for the first electronic device 201 when it is shipped from the factory. If the user wishes to reconfigure the first electronic device 201, the user may press a reset button on the first electronic device 201 that erases any previous security information and puts the device back into the configuration state 200.
When the first electronic device 201 is in the configuration state 200, the first electronic device 201 is configured to operate as a temporary wireless communication access device 212 and makes available a temporary wireless communication system 213, which is typically accessible without any security authorization required. The user then uses a user interface on the second electronic device 205 to connect the second electronic device 205 to the temporary wireless communication system 213. The user interface makes use of the user controls 206 and the display 207 associated with the second electronic device 205. This is typically done using network setup software that was previously installed on the second electronic device 205. Once the second electronic device 205 is connected to the temporary wireless communication system 213, the user utilizes an application stored on the second electronic device 205 to specify the security settings required to access a wireless communication system 203. These security settings are transferred from the second electronic device 205 to the first electronic device 201 via the temporary wireless communication system 213 and are stored on the first electronic device 201.
Once the security settings have been transmitted and stored on the first electronic device 201, the first electronic device 201 is reconfigured to operate in a connection state 210. In the connection state 210, the first electronic device 201 attempts to connect to the wireless communication system 203 using the stored security settings. The user must also reconfigure the second electronic device 205 to disconnect from the temporary wireless communication system 213. Typically, the second electronic device 205 will then connect to the wireless communication system 203, and will attempt to communicate with the first electronic device 201 via the wireless communication system 203 to verify that the connection has been properly established. Once the connection has been established, the first electronic device 201 can communication with other devices such as wireless communication access device 202 (such as a home WiFi router) or configured wireless communication device 204 (such as a Bluetooth pairing or an ad-hoc WiFi network).
The method of FIG. 2 has the disadvantage that the sequence of events required to establish the connection between the first electronic device 201 and the wireless communication system 203 is complex and can cause confusion for the user. Reconfiguring the second electronic device 205 to connect to the temporary wireless communication system 213 is not an operation most users are comfortable with. In addition, since the first electronic device 201 cannot connect to both the temporary wireless communication system 213 and the wireless communication system 203 at the same time, the user may be required to type information (e.g., a network name) that could be displayed to the user for selection using other methods. This can lead to errors in typing which will prevent the user from being successful. Furthermore, this method typically takes more user time than other methods because of the need to connect to the temporary wireless communication system 213 and then also the wireless communication system 203. Finally, this dual wireless communication systems approach does not provide an effective mechanism for error handling if any problems arise. When the first electronic device 201 is attempting to connect to the wireless communication system 203, it cannot communicate with the second electronic device 205 unless it is successful in establishing the connection.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0243033 to Won, entitled “Apparatus and method for automatic access in a wireless communication system,” describes a third method for connecting an electronic device to a wireless communication system by utilizing a physical or virtual push button on both the electronic device and on a wireless communication access device that controls the wireless communication system. This method has the disadvantage that it may require the user to replace their existing wireless communication access device with a new wireless communication access device that supports this configuration method. Furthermore, this method has security issues related to the ability to crack into the wireless network and gain access to other secured devices via an automated computer program that communicates with the wireless communication access device.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0253507 to Jung et al., entitled “Wireless device with an aggregate user interface for controlling other devices,” discloses a system that makes a determination that a wireless device is in proximity to a secondary wireless device and provides an aggregate user interface on the wireless device. Commands are sent to the secondary wireless device via the aggregate user interface to transition the secondary wireless device between different states.
There remains a need for a convenient and reliable method to connect an electronic device without user interface components to a wireless communication system.